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Hello Magi,
This update is a bit of a Look & Listen announcement. First, the "Listen"...
I know I said Saturday was our podcast update day... but I have another one for you that I want to share!
This is the third of three interview/discussions held by the Mage The Podcast team covering the Lore of Traditions book. This time Victor talks with Terry Robinson about his work on the book!
Huge thanks to Terry and team and all of the Lore of the Traditions writers for having these discussions, recording them, and sharing them with us!
Here are all of the interview links again, in case you want to binge them all at once (or missed one and want to check it out):
And now for the "Look" announcements. There are a trio of streams to check out on Twitch this week for Mage: The Ascension fans! If you want to see several of the writers for our Lore of the Traditions book in action, check this out...
On Tuesday at 3 PM EST, Travis Legge is running the A Blessing and A Curse one-shot with Satyros Phil Brucato, Rachel Judd, and Hiromi Cota.
When a group of mages is seemingly steered toward a gas station by random coincidence — just in time for a robbery to occur — they discover strange forces at work in the life of an otherwise mundane woman named Jessica Brutelli. It seems as though fate is conspiring to the gas station attendant’s benefit, but nothing comes free in the world of magick. An inexplicable aura of Paradox surrounds Jessica, and the party may be the only ones who can rid her of it.
On Wednesday at 9 PM EST we have Walking into Shadow, an information and interview show centered around Mage: The Ascension:
From light casting images on a cave wall to data streams in the form of people, the true nature of Reality is known only to those who have Awakened. Throughout history they have been sages, wizards, witches, natural philosophers, and scientists - those called Mages understand that Belief controls the world, and they aim to be the ones in control. Open your eyes and enter a world of wonder, of gods and monsters, and the art of Magick.
Walking Into Shadow is an introductory series for the game Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition. Focusing on being newcomer-friendly, each episode will ease you into the secrets of this innovative role-playing game.
On Saturday at 10 PM EST Dork Tales returns with Breaking Tradition Episode Two, which will be broadcast from their channel https://www.twitch.tv/dorktales and will be hosted on the Onyx Path channel!
Wow! Lots of cool Mage stuff to check out this week!
The Society of Ether are the Scientists of the magickal world. They’re the expansionists of humanity’s paradigmatic resistance against hopeless divorce from Enlightenment. These wonder-makerscame to the Traditions in revolution against, and from within, the Order of Reason, which thrust itself upon all of reality as the coercively dogmatic Technocratic Union. They brought with them both the potency of scientific reason and an impassioned assemblage of reasons to fight brilliantly the reductive force of their former allies. Highly individualistic in pursuit and paradigm, they make up jointly the academic arm and basemented research-and-development divisions of the Council.
Dynamic Science, their term for magick, is the discipline of ordered observation, interpretation, and the application of Will toward change; or, in short, the science of defiance against that which Consensusdeems impossible. Done right, and approached rigorously in good-faith, Science runs on — and produces — wonder. In an era lacking in this essentiality, deprived of it through the intentionality of the Technocracy’s corrupted and control-oriented machinations over Consensus, the Society of Ether has never been needed more intimately.
If ever there’s been a time that humanity needed magick, or that magick needed Science, it’s now, in the 21st century. Irrefutably, we find ourselves locked in an era which cries out for inspired wonder to force back the bounds of stagnation, and worse. The Etherites are less in the business of commanding the response to these cries, as providing the vectors of inquiry essential to hospitably greeting them, such that from disparate workings might stream a churning sea of wonder. They’re the proverbial barrelmen, captains, privateers and navigators of that wondrous sea. Preferencing themselves upon a world of uncharted expanse, the Society has set about chartering for humanity a way forward through the long-clenched strangle-hold of the Technocratic Union.
Diversely and inclusively assembled, they’re superseded theorists, researchers, anachronistic inventors, eccentric intellectuals, fringe thinkers, deviant physicists and death-ray innovators of every sort. From within each discipline of thought, they know poetry in scrawled equational expression, and symphonious utterances in brazen misadventure. Etherites carry the initiated spark of polymathic genius, and wonder, armed as they’re with the ancient knowledge of endless Ether. They explore the depths and breadth of wonder across a manifold of chaotically ordered and intersecting vortices of change, the children of Ether’s breath are intentioned not upon, but with, the “all” of humanity: Awakened, asleep, and all of those clever spaces between.
This World of Darkness calls for a light, and these stewards of the luminiferous have answered as a Sophoclean chorus, all too aware of their prior role in the tragedy unfolded upon humanity, and equally willing to be the change which resolves itself throughout reality. Etherites are dedicated to the polycentric advancement of the collective and learned push-back against the confining barriers of the forcibly unknown, of the enticing “unknowables,” and of any and all restriction of the inquiring Will to wonder, with divine curiosity, at the fathoms of reality. That which is called impossible is just an inviting wall to climb or bore through, dig under, or otherwise discover and innovate of and from ourselves a shared way onward. Those who would be themselves impediments to this cultivation of wonder, of inquiry and ingenuity, are so named the enemies of the wondrous breath of expansive Ether.
Not just eccentric pseudoscience throwbacks with Victorian chic and a fondness for superseded theories and obsolete tech, the Society of Ether in the 21st century proudly bastion themselves throughout all of the sciences. From rogue ontologists and hyperlinguists, parapsychologists and quantum social theorists, the Tradition recognizes the value (and vice) in each area of inquiry, and if there’s an -ology department for it at university, there’re members who’ve focused on them. The whole premise of the ethos of Ether is its all-inclusive polynominality of expression and exploration, for theirs is Science unbound. At least, that is the intention; amongst the Tradition are still found some “retrobates” desperate for the inglorious days of colonial white-washings of elitist paternalist essentialism.
Humanity is never without the darkness of hate and insecurity, so the rise of alternative Nazism, Fascism, and public supremacies shouldn’t have been a surprise. To the sometimes too-literal Society, it was quite a surprise; they believed that “this time” their long-dreamed Utopia could be realized for the Enlightening of all humanity. The rise of misinformation, the lexical appropriation of meaning itself, was as successful a Consensus conditioning machine of harm as Viereck’s pioneering poetic propaganda Science, decades earlier. That Nazi poet of Fallen Ether was presumed dead in 1962, though whispers persist that he, or somebody claiming his name, may well have continued propagandizing toward Fascisms even into the current era. Perhaps even orchestrating the rise of the Alt-Right and supremacist edgelords of fandom, Viereck was last active in Holyoke, MA. While some might consider worldly politics to be of no concern, beneath that of the Awakened, the Etherites have learned to attend these signs… even when the data points are noticed too late for preventative measure.
The proliferation of print and pulp catering to the masses (embedded with revolutionary counter-culture content) found purchase, even in the constriction of the Consensus. Wonder is the nakedly euphoric “eureka!” of the enlightened path; without the former, the latter can never be realized. Ironically, Technocratic short-sightedness engineered Etherite success, when they sought to strangle humanity of dream. In this choking grip, unconscious currents within Consensus found themselves grasping for more, as the institutionalized asphyxiation of imagination gave way to the rushing gasp for the breath of Ether itself. As in kink, or gallows, hypoxia is as does, at least for some, and so rose those of Awakened vision found in absence of respiratory wonder. From comic-books to television, film to fanfic, the influence of science-fiction gasped its centennial breaths out into generations of dreamers.
Waves of universal identity rights, modeled through decades of dream, became not just theories of ivy-towered trivial conjecture, but the will of populations intentioned by institution far from theory and thought, and thus… change. A culture of change.
The aim was bold to the point of absurdity, and it worked: the reconstitution of the very wonder stripped away by centuries of colonialism, conquest, crusades, and worse, under the booted heel of you-know-who. Afro-futurism? Billion-dollar blockbuster and a legacy echoing through whole identity groups for generations. Decolonization discourse? No longer confined to “fringe radicals” too easily silenced and shuttled away. With the success of the fictions, came the momentous presence of its fandoms, who’d been raised to recognize that the presented world was not okay. Even in institutional efforts to subordinate these to the economies of antiquated Consensus, came a stirring: humanity’s expression not just of their will, but increasingly Awakening Will learned enough to say “no” and collectively — “all or none” — ensure the continuance of this thing sold as fiction, but borne of inspired Science.
Through a culture of cons, cosplay, and collected lore, they came: those no longer willing to tolerate the intolerance of a strangle-hold on humanity, willing to invest of themselves in something more than themselves. For many the first call came as hobbies, or hyper-focused special interests; for others, a way to gain a sense of belonging. Etherites gave the world a reason other than hate to congregate together, built not on reductive division, but expansive inclusive reason tempered by the expanding of Aretus’s Walls of Troy. Or so they’d hoped. These idyllic dreams often masked an insidiously exploitative conditioning, and once more, Utopia was ripped from its ideological fixtures, pissed on, and passed around to the horrifying chants of frothing acclaim at the predatory harm enacted in the name of something meant… for something wonderful. Fandoms showed susceptibility to the Fallen, some emerging just as evil as any Reich.
For centuries, Etherites encountered Awakening in places most accessible to the privileged of Western society. Today, they might find the lure of Ether’s inspiration in a comic on their phone, or a streamer’s side-hustle for bits and tips. A Utopia of “natural philosophy” or “reason” is neither of these things if it’s not centrally focused upon the elevation of those for too long left out of both. The Victorian “Boys Club” is as done as Shatner, and today, the Society’s prominence is not derived from prestigious veneer of ivy-beleaguered bullshit, but a solemn oath: it isn’t Science if it doesn’t account for all the moving pieces. Steampunks and sex-workers, Aces, neurodiverse “eccentrics” and more, Etherites rise from all the cardinals, ordinals, and in-between, and they’ve found spaces outside of academia to Awaken, flourish… and fuck up, all over again, like before. But better, this time. Hopefully.
As this renaissance of cultured wonder, “for everyone,” emerged, however, so-too did its counter: those corrupted away from “all or none,” to “us or none,” who didn’t want “everyone.” The edgelord rose not just in fandoms but mainstream academia and politics, as though to impress, but in truth, it was a call for indoctrinatory recruitment, toward glossy-eyed conspiracy and the erosion of reason. Critical thinking was undermined in favor of a referential flex. Disinformation cults pledging allegiance to fallacious and fascist agenda, “hidden” for ages in plain sight to any who didn’t want to see them, grew loud and terrifyingly visible. Eugenics, and institutionalized atrocity, had never not been staples in global theater. They then became a thing proudly brandished, emerging from behind the curtain to take center stage, with brazen displays of corruptions not just of moral laws, but also of the occult and of Science.
With insidiously public spectacles of global media manipulation, political and electoral influence, and the literal unveiling of new concentration camps and kids-in-cages, the corrupted pushback against the decades of Etherite inspired pop-culture social Science machinations have the Tradition’s attention. Some less savory Scientists have leaned into the decline in critical faculties of Consensus to selfishly push their Work, as in these times Paradox seems less attendant to them than ever. It’s just a matter of time before somebody takes the “go big or go home” ideology too far. This’s not the return to wonder that Etherites fight for, as it leverages the ignorance and corruption of humanity, rather than its cooperative elevation.
Want more on the Society of Ether? Backers will have access to the full chapter from the approved kickstarter manuscript on Tuesday! By the end of this campaign, backers will be able to read the entire book before any pledge payments are processed! It's the safest magick possible!
So join in and check it out for yourself! And if you're already a backer, please continue to share your enthusiasm and excitement on your social media and in your social circles.
Hello Mages of the Mystic Traditions,
We've achieved another magickal miracle, unlocking our TENTH Stretch Goal and expanding our Faces of Magick supplement one final time! It's now triple of the size of it's initial "small supplement" designation, and that'll give the developers and writers a bit more room to explore some of the legendary figures in the world of Mage: the Ascension!
ACHIEVED! - At $110,000 in Funding – Faces of Magick III – This PDF Supplement will be expanded one final time, filled with legendary mages to use in your chronicle.
With this, we can lay out some targets for our final Stretch Goal push. We've come a long way rather quickly - it's astounding, really - but we're also right in what is traditionally the slowest pledge period for any Kickstarter, so we've got some challenges ahead for these goals.
Our biggest goal will be expanding our other major supplement, The Forgotten Ones & Forbidden Orders PDF, similar to what we've managed with the Faces of Magick book. That's a pretty big number to hit, though, so we're gonna have another milestone to keep us in good spirits along the way...
At $115,000 in Funding – Faces of Magick VTT Token Pack – Digital assets will be created to support online play for M20 games using the Faces of Magick artwork and characters. This online asset pack will be added to the rewards list of all backers.
Now that we'll have a good-sized Faces of Magick supplement, let's take advantage of that and unlock some digital assets to get these legendary characters into your online game!
At $130,000 in Funding – Forgotten Ones & Forbidden Orders III – This PDF Supplement will be expanded one final time, with even more traditions and cults detailed within.
A big target for a big Stretch Goal. As I mentioned, we're in something of a "quiet zone" where, traditionally, campaigns hold steady as we approach the final 48 hours. If we can keep our enthusiasm up and some forward momentum, we'll be in a good position to work towards unlocking this before the end of the campaign! We've seen the magick we can work when we work together, so let's keep at it!
Hello Mages,
As seems to be Tradition (see what I did there?), I've got a podcast link to share with you on this Saturday update!
This week's Onyx Pathcast features the first part in a huge chat about Mage the Ascension, looking at various projects and how the creative team go about working on them. It's a bit broader and bigger than just our Lore of the Traditions subject, covering lots of ground (and more next week!).
Here's a link to the episode: <Onyx Pathcast Episode 193> . Give it a listen to hear lots of subjects, including:
